Falling Apart
by Dakk Tribal
Summary: What would you do if the one you love most is the one sent to kill you?


"_**There are wounds that are never meant to heal…"**_

The city quarantined and under curfew, was quiet. Not a soul wandered the streets. Lights from the street lamps were the only source of light in the city, besides the stars and the full moon.

The evening gave into night, and once the sun had disappeared on the horizon, I opened the blinds in my penthouse bedroom. My private paradise. A paradise overlooking my kingdom. It was always a peaceful sight, enough to make me smile sometimes, though tonight was an exception.

I was wearing a black Armani suit, similar to my father when he went to meetings with the Council, though mine was not as tidy as his and I wore no tie with mine. As I looked out the glass walls, I could faintly see my reflection in the glass. I could see a man, still a boy in some ways, not in control of his destiny, staring back at me.

I hated him.

I hated myself. Why? Being part of a feud that has long existed since before I was born. A war over crystals, quiet wars fought to stand stills while greater armies clashed over the crystals. Wars my father led, to keep our foes from getting the crystals, which happened to be the last in the world, and also under our control.

Tenebrae wanted them, and we had to keep them.

For those who had the crystals, had the power to change anything.

That's what father told me. That's what I always believed. So why does this have to be so hard…

Our enemies often traveled into our kingdom, with little resistance at times. I had to deal with most of them myself. Soldiers that thought in some insane way that by taking me out the war would end. Too bad they forgot who I was.

I am Noctis Lucis Caelum, and I am the Prince of this land. I am not to be taken down easily, and should not be taken lightly.

At least, to most. Some of my foes are completely surprising to me.

That's how I got acquainted with her. In a restaurant humbled by the goddess Etros. A lone woman had achieved the accomplishment of getting my attention that night, as I was not too into what had been going on. Dressed in a white dress, with long light blonde hair that flowed easily with each movement she made, this woman started a conversation with me about the Light of Etros, and what it signified.

Etros was a goddess of death, why should I care about death while I am still alive?

I was naïve to not think more on the subject before this night. The woman left me there, but not before telling me her name.

_Stella_, she had said, with a smile.

Stella and her smile, I would never forget that.

That was all. Stella didn't say where she was from, and I didn't think to ask her while she was with me.

Nor did I ask her the many times after that we had been together. I often left the city to see her at scheduled places, often in the most unusual such as a gas station near a desert, as well as a small garden in the city itself.

She never came with anyone, at least not to what I saw. I don't know why I was always so into seeing her. I was a Prince, trying to make things out of the situation of defending crystals and keeping my own head against assassins that wanted me dead. And yet, even after all the fighting I endured, I was more concerned about Stella.

Stella and her smile. She was always smiling while I was around, like my mere presence made her happy, as well as polite in calling me by my title.

And I returned her kindness in time. I sent her gifts. Like an infatuated boy with his crush. At first I thought that these gifts were innocent, gifts of flowers, sweets, and even some exotic jewelry, I never took it too far to where she questioned me. She always took them with gratitude, and mentioned them in our next meeting with thanks. Our dates grew more frequent, and she soon became all I could think about.

Stella and her smile.

I changed around her as well. I wasn't too into conversations with anyone, much less women. Father always told me I was shy, but with Stella I found myself more open and even more talkative. She seemed to have brought out something in me that I could not have foreseen. I began to ask more questions about her.

She kept her background from me, and whenever I brought it up she would change the subject, like she was hiding something. And even though my instincts convinced me that was the case and I should be careful, I never heeded it, and thus I never pushed Stella into answering me.

My infatuation soon turned to something else at our latest date.

Just before we met, Ignis met up with me and told me who Stella really was. Her full name was Stella Nox Fleuret, a member of the rival family after the crystals that I controlled.

As if she had figured me out, Stella left before I could confront her.

That was two days ago, and I had not heard from her. Not like I had expected her to. My people were all over the country looking for her and anyone she was tied with, arresting them on the spot.

She had played me like a fiddle, that's what I felt like she had done to me. Ignis said she only used me to get closer to the crystal, and to not take it to an emotional standpoint. She never cared for me, he said.

He was wrong. I believed that if she had not cared about me, she would not have tried so hard to get with me. She never tried to kill me before I found out about her true identity…at least, she probably never had the opportunity to do so.

Or maybe she didn't want to…

And it was that thought that kept me from giving up on her.

Even as I took the final elevator up to the penthouse, a feeling of doubt seemed to follow me like a shadow. Doubt as to what I can do to stem the tide I knowingly caused.

_Noctis knows about me, and who I am, so what can I do?_

My family needs Noctis dead so it would make the acquisition of the crystals easier, that was what I was told when I went in for my espionage mission.

The first step was simple: establish a friendship with Noctis. That we did when we met in the exhibit. I tried to act all common and mysterious at the same time, trying to catch his eye in a subtle way. I did that.

The other steps became irrelevant once I had received the first gift from Noctis. Roses red as blood. He gave them to me as a token of friendship. Seemed innocent to me at first, and then the following week he sent me some form of jewelry, real expensive jewelry. I couldn't throw that away, so I kept it by my bedside table. Everything else solidified or relationship, and I was starting to forget the mission I had been told to keep. I started to think that if Noctis had not been whom he had been, not my enemy who held the last crystals, then maybe I would be in a happier position.

But that is not the case. I am now on my way to take him out, a knife hidden on me. Security was seriously lacking due to the great crisis outside the city. Monsters released by my people were causing trouble for everyone. This allowed me to sneak into the building and take the elevator without trouble.

I planned to kill Noctis with this knife. That was all I had to do now. The crystal would soon be ours soon after that, and then I could be left alone. No more having to kill, no more having to go through this again.

To go through heartache once again.

Did I like Noctis? Yes, I did. Still do. That's why I am hesitant to do what I have to do. I didn't think I would fall for him, not in this situation. He was the enemy, and I was literally born to kill him. That's how it was supposed to be, but now…

The elevator stopped at the floor, and the doors opened to the long hallway leading to Noctis' room. His door was the only one in the hall, and the lights were beginning to shine because night was on its way.

I took the few steps out of the elevator, hearing the metal doors close behind me. I knew I was all-alone up here, and it spooked me, knowing that nothing was going to be between Noctis and myself.

And, as I clenched my hands into fists, I walked fast down the hall. I wanted to get this over real fast, before I hesitated anymore than I already was.

A simple knock took my stare from the window to the door to my room. "Come in." I turned back to the window, thinking it was one of my servants checking in on me. I was usually quiet and wished to not be disturbed while I was in my room. I thought it had been long enough without coming out, so I let them in this time.

I didn't see who it was behind me, and I didn't want to. Well, at least until I saw Stella's reflection in the wall. She wasn't smiling, nor was I too glad to see her.

"You better have a good reason for showing up here," I said, acting cool, not knowing what she was planning to do, whether to talk to me…or to kill me.

She didn't say anything, and I heard the light clicking of her high heels making her way towards me. As her reflection got bigger in the wall, I saw she kept avoiding my eyes.

I figured she got too close when I could make out the strands of her hair, and not wanting to take any chances, I spun around, faced her, and then grabbed her by the shoulders.

I made eye contact with her, and she struggled little, mostly out of involuntary reaction.

"Why are you here?"

Stella lowered her head, as if in shame. I sighed, and shoved her on my bed. She tried to get up, but I held her down holding her hands above her head, "Look at me!"

She did, and I could see her eyes sparkling slightly, welled up with tears.

"You crying?"

Stella shook her head, "If I do its out of pain."

"For what? Is it out of regret for deceiving me? Or is it out of—"

"Regret in having met you to begin with."

I stopped, "And why is that?" I had a bit of a low tone in my voice. I suppose that I was bitter. Betrayal and what not could do that to a man.

She closed her eyes, tears flowing out the side of her eyes, "Then I would not be feeling this pain."

I eased my grip on her hands, but I didn't let them go, "Pain?"

"I was told to kill you, that was what I was told from the beginning. I figured it would be easy, but I never thought that…it would hurt this much," Stella said, turning her head away from me.

"You regret meeting me," I said, letting her hands go. I stood up, folding my arms across my chest. Stella looked up at me before sitting up on her elbows. "You should go."

Stella looked at me, her expression one of confusion, "Why?"

"It hurts you as it does me for us to be this close, with what has happened between us," I replied. If she stayed, and the guards came back, there was little to speculate as to why a member of the enemy family was in my bedroom. Most would label it treason for fraternizing with the enemy, and Stella would be killed, as I would more than likely be as well.

I didn't want her blood on my hands, and yet, I struggled to repeat the words I just spoke to her.

"Noctis, let me stay…"

I looked at her, "What…?"

"If I go back now, I will have failed my mission. It would be bad for me to return home that way."

"And how would I explain the reason why you are in my room? Armed as well?"

She laid back down on the bed, "Take me as your prisoner. I came here and you caught me."

It took me a few minutes to digest that logic, _Sounds simple enough._ I nodded slowly, just hoping that others would buy that. I leaned back over Stella, who held her hands above her head, "You're willing to do that?"

"Just need to get rid of the knife that is on me," she replied.

"And where is it?"

Lifting up her right leg, Stella motioned her head to it. I rather cautiously ran my left hand up her leg, running along her skin with my bare hand, and I found the holster with the blade in it.

I slid my hand from her knee up along her inner thigh roughly, undoing the strap there, and the contraption fell onto the bed with a light thud. Stella's skirt had risen a bit as well, allowing me to look where I shouldn't. I was a modest man with morals, but I couldn't avoid the urge at the moment.

Stella seemed to notice it and squeezed her legs together defensively.

Her action only served to increase a small amount of devious thought into my mind, and while it was virtue-less, I was compelled by her deceit.

Return her deceit with loss.

I took the knife that she once had in her possession, its blade curved and extremely sharp, eyeing it with interest before I turned my eyes to Stella, whose gaze was one of concern and or uncertainty. "As my prisoner…I am inclined to do what I wish with you, right?"

Stella nodded very slowly, "Long as I remain physically unharmed…unless the harm came with consent by myself. But…what is it that you plan to do…?"

I lowered the blade and climbed onto the bed, not speaking, Stella crawling back until her head reached the headboard as I made myself comfortable. Parting her legs with no effort or resistance, I took the edge of her skirt in my left hand and used the knife to cut it up to navel. The garment parted with a rip, and I tossed it to the side. Stella's legs did not move, though I felt them squeeze against me reflexively. "You took my heart and shattered it…it's only fair that I take something in return."

My hands went to her blouse and she grabbed my wrists, "It wasn't without regret—"

I grabbed a hold of her blouse and ripped it wide open, revealing her black bra underneath it. She made no effort to stop me, as if she had surrendered immediately to a fate she had believed would happen. I intended to shatter her like she had done to my heart. Not out of revenge, but out of heartache. I was possessed with it, consumed by it.

The knife, which had once been mine, and to be the weapon that I would have killed Noctis with, was now the tool of Noctis' desire.

And I was willing to pay the price. Regret and grief had overcome my mission. I accepted Noctis' compliance, and was his prisoner. He would do what he wanted, and I would not resist him. Never again.

The tip of the knife found itself under the front clasp of my bra, and with a simple tug the clasp came free, and as he brushed the cups aside, my breasts fell free, the cold air of the room sending a shiver that shook my body.

In a surprising move, Noctis tossed the weapon aside, it made a loud clanging as it hit the tiled floor. My hands remained at the headboard, not knowing what my captor had in mind, but soon they were pulled from there and Noctis pulled me up into his arms. His eyes were cold, and he said not a word, but I knew he had me where he wanted me.

As his hands went to my shoulders, brushing the remains of my clothing, he spoke softly, "You made me fall apart…"

I slowly put my hands on his, gripping them tightly, and spoke without hesitation, "Mind if I join you?"

As Stella said that, I felt my eyes open more to the situation. Here was a woman whom I loved who had come to kill me, willing became my prisoner, whom I had disrobed as punishment, not to mention was completely at my mercy, and she wanted to join me in the despair she had dragged me into. "Why?"

She moved her hands to my face, cupping it softly, "Let's fall apart together, Noctis…"

Instantly, I felt despair and regret plague me, for what I had put her through just moments before, "Stella…"

And while I did regret my actions, Stella made me feel some form of closure…

That closure was followed by a smile. Stella was smiling, the tears from earlier falling from the corners of her eyes, flowing down her cheeks and falling onto her chest.

She answered again, "I'll join you. Just let me."

As she gently pressed her lips to mine, and her warm tears met my skin, I suddenly felt whole in the heart, that spot in my chest I thought had shattered many nights ago was beating again.

Stella pulled back, and I smirked.

And she smiled.


End file.
